. . .because Morris, Minnesota, is a pleasant, quiet, safe yet intellectually stimulating place on the west central Minnesota prairie, home of the U of M-Morris and a whole lot of interesting people. - morris mn

"You'll never get ahead if you don't take care of what you have." - Doris Waddell, RIP

A historic building on our U of M-Morris campus - morris mn

The multi-ethnic building was the original home of the music department at UMM. (B.W. photo)

Monday, June 9, 2014

Sports rests on pedestal it doesn't deserve

Image from "Western Sun"

How did you react to that "barroom brawl" in Mankato?

"Barroom brawl" was the term used by my cousin's wife who works at Mankato State. We exchanged emails. I still call the place Mankato State even though the institution presents itself by the cumbersome name "Minnesota State University-Mankato."
The fight which I reference didn't happen inside a bar. It was outside
in the streets. Gee, football players out in the street outside a bar in
the bar district of a college town, at closing time. What could go
wrong? Well, a whole lot did go wrong. Why couldn't these individuals
just be home in bed? Look at all the trouble they'd save all of us, let
alone themselves.
I asked how you reacted when hearing this news. I'll bet one of your
first thoughts was: this is testosterone-fueled football player
behavior, the kind we have all known of, through our lives.
I used to sneak out to "Cougar Follies" of the UMM football program. I remember it being at the 9F Sportsmen's Center for a couple years. Even the planners wanted this event to be sort of under the radar. It was a pre-season series of skits so de-based in terms of taste, I wouldn't wish to share an example here. UMM's provost readily admitted this. It was a ritual where we allow our gladiators to behave in a Neanderthal way.
We have traditionally allowed our male athletes to be anti-intellectual,
emotionally illiterate, macho-infused, homophobic and misogynist. We
have been awakening to the disturbing elements of this. Progress is
definitely being made. It's a little grudging because of the entrenched
nature of sports culture, the fact we still need these brawny gladiators
to entertain us.
The athletes have been victims throughout the course of this
values-bereft culture.
One of the first things a sports agent will tell a client is that the
media and public are merely observers from a distance and are in no way,
shape or form invested in the athlete's welfare. I remember a spokesman
for Billy Sims, the great runningback of yesteryear, saying he had implored Mr. Sims about this.
The "barroom brawl" in Mankato involved a former University
of Minnesota quarterback, Philip Nelson. Nelson had announced he was
transferring to Rutgers - you know, that college out east where the
men's basketball coach got in trouble for throwing balls at players as
discipline.
Nelson transferred because he got beat out here by that Leidner fellow. Nelson was the reason why Max Shortell transferred out of the U. Nelson beat out Shortell.
These players are just mercenaries - they go where they can get the
best deal. And yet we cheer for them as if they truly represent
Minnesota. Are we cheering for the uniforms?
At the U they play under a coach who is risky to even have out on the
sidelines. The poor man suffers from seizures and we feel compassion,
but his symptoms can cause trauma among people who aren't familiar.
Nelson got his dander up outside a bar in Mankato.
Others were involved. At any rate, this young ruffian has been
dismissed by Rutgers. His life is probably changed forever. All because
he thought physical conflict could solve something. It's that old
testosterone-fueled football player attitude. We see such an attitude as
increasingly anachronistic.

Hollywood violence is faux
The old Hollywood movies showed fights that had those haymaker
punches. The fights were so choreographed. A guy would swing and hit his
adversary in the jaw. There was a sharp noise and the recipient would
recoil, maybe with a little blood (ketchup?) coming from the corner of
the mouth. Sometimes a guy would swing and miss magnificently, as his
adversary ducked.
A kid digesting this entertainment might think a "fight" is called for
when he gets ticked off, like when "somebody makes a play for my girl." A
girl was part of the account that emerged from Mankato.
In real life, "barroom brawls" which are imagined so routinely in
Hollywood movies, have long-lasting consequences. If you hurt someone
and that person goes to an emergency room, that person will get a little
note from his insurance company asking if some other party is
responsible for the wounds. Enough said. Hollywood doesn't hint at that.
It just shows the brawls as an offshoot of the conflict that is so
essential in drama. Patrick Swayze in "Road House" gave us the extreme.
Need we be reminded of how impressionable boy athletes can be? Do we
think about what happens to them when they hear cheers cascading down on
them at a place like our Big Cat Stadium? The cheers and adulation come
just from the boy out-running someone, throwing a ball accurately or
being able to tackle someone.
Every time I see a football player sprawled on his back by his team's
bench, being attended to by the "trainer" or EMT people, I wonder if
that player will have long-lasting consequences from the injury. Or, if
consequences of that injury might crop up later in life as the body
declines and becomes susceptible to problems.
How does age affect the consequence of all those subconcussive
hits that football players experience? I go to Big Cat Stadium and see
an ambulance parked there with its crew at the ready. What the heck are
we doing to our kids, subjecting them to these risks so we might cheer?
Can you imagine any other school activity where an ambulance has to be
present? Are we nuts?
Here's a question: Could anything like the goalpost incident at UMM happen in connection with any school activity other than sports?
In
an earlier time, football was more clearly associated with unabashed
ruffians. It famously almost got outlawed. Many people shook their head
over it (like my late father).
As football exploded in popularity, due to how TV could present the
big-time versions of the sport, we have (rather desperately) tried to
make the sport more civilized. The pro game is under intense pressure to
flush out the long-established homophobic element in the sport. The pro
game is desperate about a lot of things. The wellspring of the ruminations
is that society is demanding that football be safe, clean and
civilized, when in fact the essence of football contradicts that. Lawyers are
working around the clock I'm sure.
Dan Marino popped in and out of a concussion lawsuit last week.

Boys need choices in the fall
This coming fall, many of us will be watching eagerly in hopes of seeing
junior high football numbers drop off. We'll be
incredulous if they don't. It's very primal for parents to guard the
health of their offspring. Surely we can offer young boys athletic
options that will steer them away from football. Problem is, cross
country isn't a good enough option. Cross country is for kids with a
wispy physique. Unless you carry minimal pounds, cross country isn't for
you unless you just want to jog along in practice, and you can do that
on your own.
Do we have organized soccer in Morris? We did at one time. Why can't
boys play the safe sport of volleyball like the girls? There was a time
when girls were discriminated against in sports. Today they have it
better because their sports are safer.
We look up to a sports pedestal. The best athletes get showered with
attention. Recognition programs/banquets are full of hyperbole. A kid who
wrestles and wins, pinning his foes, is made to feel he's endowed with
some incredibly special gift. We hear talk about commitment, as if that
quality couldn't be directed in some other more constructive direction.
Indeed there is a unique power of sport.
Sport is really a privileged entity that over-promises and
under-delivers, except for an elite few, and this norm has been in place
for decades. One commentator says sports can be viewed as "the ultimate
venture capital pyramid, as there's a big wide-ranging investment with
only a tiny proportion of people reaping any rewards at all, and
'collateral damage' as a necessary by-product."
Continuing: "Sport makes bold, unregulated promises of return on
investment (of the kind) Lehman's and Fannie Mae made in the late '90s,
and it is only a great, communal fondness for the products of sports -
their poignance as a cultural meme - and the select
positive memories of (and benefits for) a powerful few, not to mention
slickly-produced events and well-manicured messaging around sport, that
(maintain the) artificial inflation of the importance of sport."

(Run-on sentences can have the effect of caffeine.)

Toward a more civilized sports world

We
view sports as "the way it should be" rather than to critically
question. Sport can be made safer. It can complement all the activities
our kids are invited to join. But the kind of hero worship that makes
the likes of Philip Nelson think he can "beat the s--t out of someone,"
as if pushing aside a would-be tackler, has got to end.
Come to think of it, why does a college town have to have a bar district? Will that become obsolete someday?

U of M sips the Kool-Aid
The
U of M has an athletic director who thinks we need to create a sort of
colony where athletes are some sort of (my words) master race. Of
course, the money will come from private sources. We're talking
something like $190 million. In this Wall Street-dominated age, such
lofty numbers just get tossed around.
Norwood Teague has shown his plan to Regents. Teague says the U needs an academic center for athletes who "shouldn't just be expected to go to the library or some other place."
The U has to stay in the "arms race" with other Big 10 schools, I guess.
A special facility would include computer labs, tutoring areas, study
areas and offices for academic advisors.
Looking through the veil:
The U needs to create a ruse where we can feel athletes are being served
for their academic needs, when we're in fact holding their hands, with
some feeling of desperation in fact, helping them stay eligible, sans
any tutoring scandals like under Clem Haskins, so they can thrill us by beating other Big 10 schools.
I have had it with all the pretensions and disingenuousness
of big-time sports, the illusions they create, the way they chew up
people and spit them out. The fans don't know these kids as human beings
- not at all. The race needs to stop. Athletes can nurture other
avenues by which they can build meaningful skills and socialize
constructively.
Our University of Minnesota-Morris has that fancy football stadium with
artificial turf, but doesn't even have a genuine concert hall for music.
Strange. We're strangers in a strange land sometimes.

Summer scenes around Morris, 2012

Click on the image to view a Flickr album of photos taken around the Morris area in the warm weather months of 2012. This group includes photos taken at the 2012 UMM graduation. The image above taken near Perkins Lake was chosen for display in the "Minnesota Explorers" Flickr gallery which is linked to Rick Kupchella's "Bring Me the News" MN website. Also chosen was a field of sunflowers photo I took. I'm delighted to have such platforms available. - B.W.

Past MACA Tiger football photos:

City of Morris perspective:

Pin it on your chest!

Click on the above image to access our "City Data" page.

Morris Theater - morris mn

Click on this image to read thoughts/reflections on our Morris Theater, which is hanging on through changing times (as a co-op). There is a link at the bottom of this post to read part 2 as well. These posts were written in spring of 2010 so there are some dated references. Any Morris native can spin some fond recollections of enjoying cinema fare there with friends.

Enjoy some fall scenery around Morris:

Enjoy some winter scenes around Morris:

Sam Smith statue - morris mn

Click on the image to read about the Sam Smith "running rifleman" statue at Summit Cemetery. This post explores the life of Samuel Smith, early Morris resident. He fought for the Union cause in several major engagements in the Civil War. The statue is patterned after the statue for the First Minnesota Regiment at Gettysburg National Park. This post is the newest of three that I have written about Sam Smith. I consider it the most comprehensive about the man. The statue can be an overlooked landmark of Morris MN. Everyone here ought to be familiar with it. Smith raised a large family north of Morris.

The first building here

In 1871 the first building erected within the village of Morris was the headquarters of the chief engineer of the railroad, C.H.F. Morris. With the railroad came the people.

The WCROC overlook

A nice view to the west is afforded from the WCROC overlook. It's a relatively new feature of the WCROC grounds. Specifically it's part of the WCROC Horticulture Garden. Click on the image to reach the West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) website. Les Lindor was instrumental in making the overlook a reality. He served the West Central Experiment Station (the entity predating the WCROC) as ag engineer.

Stay informed about Stevens County MN:

Morris' music mecca:

Words to live by

This original and popular sign can be seen from the highway between Morris and Cyrus. It's associated with the late Dan Helberg. There used to be a sculpture next to it but perhaps it was removed due to legal restrictions (i.e. as a distraction). The sign has the thumbs-up for which we are grateful. Let's always heed these words.

Some spring/summer photo scenes:

The bike trail system

Call it both a walking and bicycling trail. It snakes along both the east and west sides of our Pomme de Terre River. You can do a complete lap which reportedly measures 4 1/2 miles. It's a fitness challenge for those willing to push their bodies a little! This photo was taken on the east side of the river, heading toward Lake Crissey (a wide spot on the river). Spring is a great time to get out there.

Our area's history:

Remembering "ag school"

From the time it accepted its first class in 1910, until it graduated its final class of seniors in 1963, over 7,000 students attended the West Central School of Agriculture. The precursor of the U of M-Morris, it opened its doors to its first class of 103 students in October of 1910.

Wildflowers out by the river

Click on this image to reach the "Minnesota wildflowers" website. This photo was taken on the west side of our Pomme de Terre River.

Before the current library

In 1921 the Stevens County Memorial Armory was built on the 100 block of East 6th Street, the site which is now occupied by the Morris Public Library.1969 saw the opening of the new Morris Public Library on the site of the old armory, leaving vacant the Carnegie building. The Historical Society found a new home in the Carnegie building in 1970.

A suggested restaurant

About Me

Brian Williams is a former writer in the Morris "dead tree" media who plies his pastime in the wonderful, liberating new media today. He refuses to consider himself an alternative journalist because the web is now the mainstream. Newspapers are in rapid retreat and it won't be long before they will exist in vestigial form only. Print media will not die because as a media observer put it: "We will always have print media for as long as there's a 'print' button on your computer." A once weekly newspaper (like in Morris) won't cut it. It's not consistent with our instant gratification culture. But the media are blossoming more than ever thanks to all the new tools. It's an uplifting, "green" new universe. Key word suggestions: morris mn - hancock mn - donnelly mn - cyrus mn - chokio mn - alberta mn - 56267 - stevens county - morris theater mn - morris area tigers - hancock owls.

Buy a car:

Pomme de Terre or Perkins?

Most maps identify it as "Perkins Lake" but it's known as Pomme de Terre to many local residents. The sign at the entry to the lake access uses the Pomme de Terre term, so that seems legitimate. This lake is part of a chain that represent wide spots on the Pomme de Terre River. Pomme de Terre Lake is useful for recreation and fishing, plus there are many fine residences along the shoreline. The chain is located several miles north of Morris.

A Destiny Driver. . .

"I Love Morris" is consistent with one of the "destiny drivers" as articulated by Stevens Forward! (named for Stevens County): "By 2010 we will enhance our interconnectedness by better utilizing the technology infrastructure to create a virtual community." (2010 is already here but this is always a "work in progress!")

We're the "Storm" in hockey

Click on this image to reach the official website of the Morris Benson Area "Storm" hockey program. Of course it's "MBA" for short. In Morris these teams play at the Lee Community Center, next to the fairgrounds.

B.W.'s country music memories, 1996-97:

Your Congressman:

Maintain perspective:

Main street of Morris mn

Atlantic Avenue is the main street of Morris and it's typically abuzz. Click on the above image to reach the Stevens County Economic Improvement Commission website.

Gager's Station

The first stopping place in Stevens County was Gager's Station, considered by some historians to be one of the more important stopping plces on the Wadsworth Trail. The station was nestled among the trees near Wintermute Lake.

VIDEO CLIPS

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The Eagles huddle

Blue is the color of the Morris amateur baseball team which goes by the nickname "Eagles." They're pictured about to break a pre-game huddle at their home: Chizek Field, named for the late Don Chizek who coached the Morris High Tigers for many years. The Tigers now have their own veteran coach in Lyle Rambow. Lyle had a successful playing career with the Eagles.

RIP jazz band leaders:

Best dog you could own:

"Dog is my co-pilot":

Superb early-morning TV:

Wind turbines - morris mn

There are two grand wind turbines such as this one on the eastern edge of Morris. It appears glistening white in this photo but they often are dark, silhouetted against the bright sky. A photographer never tires of them. They have become sustainable symbols of the community.

A trail of long ago here

The Wadsworth Trail was established by the U.S. Government in 1864 to transport supplies from St. Cloud to Fort Wadsworth, west of present day Sisseton, South Dakota.

No longer just a comedian:

She's upstaging Jim Klobuchar now:

Visit our McDonald's

It's a hotspot for dependable fast food and, just as important, socializing: our McDonald's Restaurant on the north end of Atlantic Avenue.

Our park in west Morris

Wells Park, located near Pacific Avenue and West 11th Street, was established in 1916 on land donated to the city by Henry Wells (a successful businessman and land investor) and Margaret Hulburd. Additional land was donated in 1935 by the Wells Investment Company, and in 1980 by Grace Zamerow.